Last night when everyone had gone to bed I got out my allotment file which hasn't seen the light of day for nearly a year and drew up my plans for the plot this year.
I have just got in from work, seen the ideas there on the page and felt very alarmed at the mammoth task I have set myself once again. The children don't like the dank vegetable plot at this time of year - harvesting is one thing but digging over in the chill February air is another, so it's always a case of juggling and fitting it in like a mad woman at 6am on Sunday mornings as usual!
Anyway I put my plans in front of me and sat down to eat the Borscht I made yesterday from some wonderful overwintered beetroots and I realised why it is all so worth it. YUM!
Here is the newly invented recipe for Beetroot Soup / Borscht:
Four large beetroots previously baked in silver foil and then peeled and chopped
One onion, chopped
Garlic, chopped or crushed I can't remember
Half a tin of puy lentils
A tin of chopped tomatoes
Stock (I used chicken stock I had in the freezer)
Butter and olive oil
Fry the onions and add the beetroot when soft. Add some garlic and the canned tomatoes. Let this bubble away for a few minutes and add the stock and lentils. Let this simmer for as long as you have time (20 minutes would be fine). Whizz with Brenda the Blender and enjoy.
This was even better after a night in the fridge with some homemade bread and lashings of butter. Anyone can dig an allotment over after this!!
Thanks for that, my husband loves beetroot. Best of luck for the allotment.
ReplyDeleteI have been doing the same - plotting out the veggie garden for winter but instead of dealing with frozen mud I am dealing with weeds knee-deep and weather still too hot and humid to be comfortable digging. i dont have any keen helpers this time of year either. i am wondering if it is time
ReplyDeleteto start some seedlings. too soon and the little babies fry in the middle of the day - too sad.
yummy soup and homemade bread and butter. im always keen on a good beetroot recipe.
I've made a note of the Borscht recipe but will have to buy my beetroot so it wont taste as good as yours. I have planted my broad beans though - in three very large pots! We don't have room for a veg plot but I've had quite good results growing in containers. After the broad beans I'll plant dwarf beans, runner beans and anything else I can squeeze in.
ReplyDeleteHi Clare,
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that beetroot would be ok overwintered. I have some in the garden and have often meant to have a go at Borscht. You've inspired me! Well, I need to keep healthy, thanks for dropping by with kind words. I'm trying to catch up with all the posts I've missed. I wish I was that organised with our veggie plot. We are so waterlogged in the low Weald of Kent that I can't dig it yet if I wanted to. Good luck with your plot. BW Tricia